


Road Trip

by maszzaj



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24589234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maszzaj/pseuds/maszzaj
Summary: Buck, Eddie and Christopher drive from LA to El Paso.Buddie First Kiss Week Day 7: Author's Choice
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	Road Trip

**Los Angeles, California**

“Ready?” Eddie clicked in his seat belt in place. “You got everything? Phones? Chargers? Glass-”

“Shi-oot!” Buck jumped out of Eddie’s truck and sprinted to his Jeep parket at the driveway in front of Eddie’s and Christopher’s house. 

Christopher giggled in the back seat. 

Phone charger in his hand, Buck ran back to the truck. He stopped by the door and threw the charger on the dashboard. “Can I drive?”

“I thought I was driving first.”

“I don’t like that plan.”

“You made it!” Eddie waved his hands around. They haven’t even left the driveway and things already weren’t going as planned. 

“And now I’m making a new one.” Buck looked at Eddie with his blue eyes. How could Eddie say no to that? Sighing, Eddie unfastened his seat belt and walked to the passenger’s side while Buck ran to driver’s side. 

“Everyone ready, now?” Eddie asked, closing the truck door. 

Christopher enthusiastically nodded his head. “Ready, dad!”

Waiting on his reply, Eddie looked at Buck who was fiddling with the radio buttons.

“Buck?”

“What?” Buck turned to Eddie. “Oh! Yeah, just give me a sec.”

Buck pressed a few buttons on the radio and the sound of an unfamiliar rock song filled the truck’s cabin. “Now, I’m ready. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Buck started the car and pulled out on the road while Eddie and Christopher exchanged a look. 

Eddie turned down the volume on the radio.

“Hey! I love that song.” Buck turned up the volume.

“I don’t.” Eddie reached for the radio again and Buck swatted his hand away.

Christopher giggled in the back. 

“Driver picks the music!” Buck announced. 

“That’s why you wanted to drive?”

Buck smirked. 

“Too bad for you, we have a rule in this truck.” Eddie glanced at Christopher. 

“Christopher picks the music!” Christopher jumped in his seat and clapped his hands. 

Buck narrowed his eyes at Eddie. “That’s not a real rule.” 

“In this truck it is.” Eddie nodded. It wasn’t exactly a rule, but the 2 times Eddie and Christopher drove from LA to El Paso, Christopher was in charge of picking their playlist. It was a tradition. And honestly, Eddie trusted Christopher’s taste in music more than Buck’s.

“All right then.” Buck pouted as he turned off his playlist. “What would you like to listen?” He glanced at Christopher in the rear view mirror. 

“Cars!” Christopher shouted. 

Buck scrunched up his nose and stared at the radio with longing. 

Eddie laughed and scrolled through the playlists until the got to Christopher’s. Glancing at Buck, he pressed play. Buck’s eyes twitched and Eddie smirked. Welcome to music hell aka road trip with a 9-year-old.

**Los Angeles, California to Palm Springs, California**

Buck shifted in higher gear and pressed on the gas pedal. The road ahead was clear, but Buck still made sure he kept his eyes on the road and followed the speed limits. 

“You want me to take over? There’s a rest stop up ahead.” Eddie asked.

Buck shook his head. “I’m good.” He glanced at Eddie. “Unless you want to drive?”

“You’re enjoy it, I wouldn’t want to ruin your fun.”

“You could have just said you wanted me to drive.”

“I could.” Eddie nodded, smirking. “I’ll drive tomorrow. Unless you want to take my shift.”

Buck chuckled. “Yeah, no.”

“Buck?” Christopher asked from the back and Buck lowered the volume on the radio. 

“Yeah, buddy?”

“How come you don’t have a girlfriend?”

Buck’s eyes widened and he gasped. He stared out the windshield, watching a red sports car zoom past them. “Why-Why do you ask?”

Buck glanced at the rear view mirror and saw Christopher shrug and look out the side window. “Everyone’s got a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. I just want to know why you don’t?”

“Your dad doesn’t.” Buck said, earning himself a glare from Eddie. 

“Dad had mom. You never had a girlfriend?”

“I did.” Buck kept his eyes on the road. “I had a girlfriend before we met.” 

“Did she die like mom?”

Glancing at the rear view mirror, Buck pressed his lips together. “No. She…”

“That’s a really personal question. Maybe Buck doesn’t want to talk about it.” Eddie turned in his seat to look back at Christopher. 

“No, it’s okay.” Buck smiled. That wasn’t the conversation he planned for this trip. But if Christopher wanted to know, he’d tell him. “My girlfriend’s name was Abby. And she was an amazing woman, but we weren’t right for each other.”

Christopher nodded, chewing on his lip. “I have a girlfriend.”

“You what?” Eddie spun around, leaning back between the seats, his mouth open wide. 

Buck laughed. “Way to go!”

“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it?” Eddie’s voice shook a little. “How-how long have you had a girlfriend?”

“Since yesterday. But she said we’ve been dating since Wednesday.”

Eddie visibly relaxed and leaned the side of his head on the head rest. 

“What’s her name?” Buck asked. He was curious about the girl who had the guts to tell a boy they were dating. 

“Amy. She has really pretty black hair. Like Moana.”

Buck glanced at Eddie’s dark hair, “Yeah, black hair is very pretty.”

“You should get a girlfriend with black hair.” 

Buck snorted. He didn’t want a girlfriend, a black haired boyfriend on the other hand... “Maybe.”

“Okay.”

Eddie turned around and sagged into his seat. He turned on the volume on the radio. “He’s 9! He can’t have a girlfriend!” Eddie whispered, loudly. He spun around and glanced at Christopher to make sure he couldn’t hear. 

Buck shrugged his shoulders. He thought it was cute, but by the way Eddie was glaring at the dashboard, he didn’t feel the same. “He’s 9. I had my first girlfriend when I was 6.”

“He’s too young and…” Eddie looked out the windshield, frowning. 

“And?” Buck glanced at Eddie.

“And I’m not ready for-for him to start dating.” Eddie bounced his leg up and down.

“Relax.” Buck tightened his hold on the steering wheel so he wouldn’t reach across the console to steady Eddie’s bouncing leg. “They’re just kids. Haven’t you had a girlfriend when you were that age?”

Eddie pursed his lips. “Right, yeah, it’s nothing. They’re just playing and in week when we get back they’ll forget all about dating. She’ll probably tell some other kid he’s her boyfriend, right?”

“Right.” Buck held in his laughter. “And you’ll have another year or two before you have to really start worrying about Christopher dating.”

Eddie glared at him.

**Palm Springs, California to Phoenix, Arizona**

Second day of their road trip started bad. They overslept and in the hurry to get on the road, they forgot Christopher’s blue sweater. 

“We’ll get you a new one.” Eddie said from the driver’s seat. 

“But I like this one.” Christopher crossed his arms and stared at his feet. “Can’t we go back?”

Eddie sighed and focused on the road. “We’re too far to turn back. I’m sorry, Christopher.” They were only an hour away from the hotel, but turning back would add another 2 hours to their trip and they still had a long way to go. It was just a sweater. Eddie vowed to buy Christopher whichever sweater he wanted, once they were back in LA. 

The sun beat down on them, the truck’s AC no match for the heat coming through the windows. 

“Hey, buddy.” Buck turned to Christopher. “You know what’s my favorite part about road trips?” 

Eddie was grateful Buck tried to engage Christopher. 

“What?” Christopher mumbled, not looking up.

“Games!” Buck smiled. 

Christopher looked up at Buck. “What kind of games?”

Of course. Eddie’s lips twitched. No one stood a chance against Buck, not even a pissed off 9-year-old.

“My favorite was Alphabet game. Me and Maddie always played it in the car.” 

“How do you play it?”

“Well, you pick a category, like cars, and then someone else picks a letter, let’s say T. Then you name all the things about cars starting with that letter.”

“Like tires?” Christopher said.

“Yes!” Buck shifted in his seat. “I say trunk and then your dad says…”

Feeling eyes on him, Eddie glanced at the rear view mirror and to the right, noticing both Christopher and Buck staring at him. “Um… tailgate.”

After a long silence, Christopher huffed. “I can’t think of anything else.”

“Me neither. Eddie?” 

“No.” Eddie shook his head, noticing the fuel light was on. He wondered when it had turned on. He was pretty sure, he hadn’t seen it when he started the car. 

“Okay. Next category!” Buck pulled his leg on the seat and leaned his back against the window. 

“Gas station.” Eddie said. “And sit back down.” He glared at Buck. 

“G!” Christopher yelled, smiling.

Buck mumbled under his breath, but turned around so he was again sitting with his back against the seat.

“Gas. As in, we need to get to a gas station before we run out of gas.” Eddie slowed down, looking for a sign to the nearest gas station. 

Buck leaned closer to Eddie and peered at the dashboard. “We’re fine.” Buck turned back to Christopher. “Next category.”

10 minutes later their truck sputtered and jerked. Eddie carefully parked at the side of the road. “We’re fine.” Eddie repeated Buck’s words back to him. 

Buck pressed his lips together and slowly shrugged his shoulders.

“Why are we stopping, dad?”

“We’re just having minor car troubles. Nothing to worry about.”

“We ran out of gas.” Buck unfastened his seat belt and jumped out of the truck. “I’ll run ahead, find a gas station and hitch a ride back.”

“No, you’re not!” Eddie got out of the truck and walked to Buck’s side. “We’re staying put and calling Triple A.”

Buck closed the truck’s door. “It’s gonna take them hours to get here.”

“But we’re all still going to be alive instead of lying in a ditch by the road with our throats cut.” Eddie put his hands on his hips. 

“You’re being a little dramatic. Besides, I’ve done this before.”

“We’ll I’m not letting you walk around alone in the middle of nowhere.”

“Letting me?” Buck glared at Eddie.

“Yes.” Eddie gritted out through clenched teeth. “If I have to, I’ll tie you to the truck.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

“I can’t take you.” Eddie straightened his back, stepping into Buck’s personal space. 

They glared at each other for a long moment. “Fine.” Buck raised his hands in surrender. “We’ll just cook in the car then.”

“That’s the spirit.” 

“Is Buck going to get gas? I don’t want him to go.” Christopher said as they got back in the car.

Eddie called Triple A while Buck explained to Christopher what was going. 

“They’ll be here… in a couple of hours.” Eddie winced, knowing it’s going to be a long couple of hours. 

Buck smirked and stuck out his chin. 

A couple of hours meant close to 5. By the time Triple A showed up, they have eaten all their snacks, listened Christopher’s entire playlist, watched a movie, Christopher has taken a nap, and Buck and Eddie weren’t speaking to each other. 

After they filled the car with gas, Buck insisted on driving. Eddie was too tired to argue. Without a word, he got in on the passenger side and leaned his head back on the headrest. Please let this day be over already. 

Buck started the car and Eddie turned to sleeping Christopher on the back seat. “Hey, buddy. We’re getting back on the road, so you need to put on your seat belt, okay?”

“Did we get the gas?” Christopher opened his bleary eyes and slowly sat up. 

Eddie nodded as he watched Christopher fasten his seat belt. 

The rest of the ride to Phoenix was spend in silence. Christopher fell back asleep shortly after they returned on the road and Buck and Eddie had nothing to say to each other. 

Half an hours later they pulled into a gas station. While Eddie pumped the gas and checked the oil. Buck and Christopher got snacks and water

“I’ll drive.” Eddie said to Buck when he and Christopher returned to the truck.

“I can drive.” Buck helped Christopher into the truck.

“You’ve been driving for the past 2 hours.” Eddie said, working hard on keeping anger out of his voice. “It’s my turn.” 

Buck glared at Eddie, looking away he clenches his jaw and nodded. 

Eddie celebrated the small victory while dreading the rest of the trip. 

**Phoenix, Arizona**

Buck paced in front of Eddie’s and Christopher’s hotel room. He glanced at his phone, it was past 10 pm. Christopher was probably asleep, but what about Eddie? 

Leaned his back against the wall across the hall from Eddie's hotel room, Buck stared at the door. He was an idiot, this was all his fault, he should had made sure they had a full tank of gas. And then they wouldn’t have gotten stranded in the middle of nowhere. 

Buck shivered as he thought of Eddie, standing in front of him, ordering him to stay with the truck. He didn’t know what he wanted more, hitting Eddie for thinking he couldn’t take care of himself, or jumping him for looking so damn hot. If Christopher hadn’t been in the car, Buck was sure he would have done something he would have regretted. 

Pulling out his phone, Buck texted Eddie: Open the door. And then he waited. If Eddie was awake, he’d see the text and he’d either open the door or ignore Buck. If he was asleep, Buck would just go back to his room and apologize tomorrow. 

A minute later, Eddie opened the door. His gray shorts and t-shirt wrinkled and his hair standing at odd angles, Eddie looked beautiful. 

“I’m sorry,” Buck pushed his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t.” Eddie motioned for Buck to come in. “I couldn’t sleep. It’s hot as hell here.”

Buck smiled, the t-shirt clinging to his back could attest to that. 

Christopher was fast asleep in his bed, his head burrowed under the pillow. A blue hotel blanket lay on the floor. 

Eddie grabbed them both a bottle of water and they walked out onto the small balcony, leaving the door open a little so they could hear if Christopher woke up and needed anything.

Buck looked out at the city lights in the distance, the clouds rolling from the south. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Eddie leaned his forearms on the railing and looked out. “Probably just passing thought. There’s better chance of a dust storm than a rain storm.”

“I’d love some rain about now.”

“Are we really going to talk about weather, Buck.” 

Buck was silent for a moment, staring out into distance. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Eddie turned to Buck.”Look-”

“I should have made sure I filled up the tank last night. I was driving.”

“And I was driving today. If I had noticed the light sooner, we’d made it to the gas station on time.”

“I…,” Buck smiled. “Yeah, okay. It was all your fault.”

Eddie snorted and shook his head. 

Lighting stroke in the distance, illuminating the sky in dark violet color. A second later, thunder rumbled all around them. 

Buck and Eddie looked at each other. Unaware what he was doing, Buck took a step closer to Eddie. Eddie did the same and they found themselves standing toe to toe. Buck glanced from Eddie’s eyed down to his lips. He leaned in. 

“Dad!” 

Eddie jerked back and looked toward the room. He glanced at Buck with a small smile then sprinted inside.

Buck sagged against the railing and rubbed his hands over his face. Were they really going to do what he thought they were going to do? Maybe it was for the best they were interrupted. 

**Phoenix, Arizona to Tucson, Arizona to El Paso, Texas**

Stop being so awkward! Eddie’s brain shouted at him as he listened to Buck and Christopher sing along to some catchy pop song on the radio. He had spent half the night tossing and turning, thinking of what happened at the balcony. Today, he could barely look at Buck. Sitting in a car with only a few inches of space between them was torture. 

And Buck acted like everything was normal. And maybe it was, for him. Eddie should follow his example. Obviously, whatever happened last night, didn’t mean anything. 

“Let’s play Would you rather!” Buck shouted and Eddie startled.

“Yes!” Christopher jumped in his seat.

Buck turned off the radio. “I’ll go first. Would you rather have an extra finger or an extra toe?”

Christopher puckered his lips, seriously thinking about the question. “Toe.”

“Why would you want an extra toe? Extra finger would be way more fun and useful. You two wouldn’t stand a chance against me at Super Mario.” Buck wiggled his fingers.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’m with Christopher. I’m perfectly happy having only 5 fingers.” That was normal. Way to go, Diaz. Eddie rolled his eyes at his thoughts. 

“Boring.” Buck turned to Christopher. “You’re turn.”

“Would you rather… um…. be invisible or be able to fly?” Christopher shouted. 

“Easy,” Eddie relaxed. It was a fun game, and it took his mind off of Buck, for a few seconds at least. “Fly.”

“Yeah, fly.” Buck nodded his head. 

“Me too. Being invisible would be boring.”

Buck nodded. “Eddie, your turn.”

Eddie looked out the window, watching the desert on each side of the highway. “Would you rather… live in a desert or in the ocean?”

“When you say in the ocean do you mean in the actual water?” Buck asked.

Eddie nodded his head. 

“In the ocean so I could surf and swim all day.” Christopher said. Eddie was glad he got Christopher all those surfing and swimming lessons. His son loved water. Even after the tsunami. Eddie glanced at Buck to make sure he was okay. 

“Where would you sleep?” Buck asked Christopher, forced smile on his lips. 

“On my surfboard!” Christopher said like it was the most obvious thing. 

“I’d pick the desert.” Buck glanced at Eddie and smile, a genuine smile this time. “And you, Eddie?”

“Desert. I hate sharks.”

“But if we lived in the ocean we’d be friends with them.” Christopher said, seriously. 

“He’s got a point.” Buck shrugged his shoulder. 

“My turn now?” Christopher asked. 

“Go for it!” Eddie glanced at Christopher in the rear view mirror. He was glad he asked Buck to come along and that Buck accepted. This trip would have been really boring without Buck. 

“Would you rather be really fast or really strong?”

They continue playing the game for the next couple of miles until Christopher fell asleep. 

“Good. I was running out of questions.” Eddie chuckled, watching Christopher lightly snore in the back seat. 

“I wasn’t.” Grinning, Buck looked at Eddie. “Now we can get to the really interesting questions.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes at Buck. 

“Would you rather… never have sex again or only have one night stands?” 

Eddie groaned. “Really? You want to do this?”

Buck nodded. “Come on, what else are we going to do?”

“Fine. I guess…” Eddie drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He liked sex, but to only have meaningless sex for the rest of his life? “Never have sex again.” 

“Really? Me too.”

Eddie snorted. “That’s not what Buck 1.0 would say.”

Buck laughed. “Definitely not. Good that I’m not him anymore. Your turn.”

“Would you rather live on the Moon or on the Mars?”

“Nope.” Buck vigorously shook his head. 

“Nope?”

“You can do better. And remember, we’re playing a grown up version now.”

Eddie sighed. “Would you rather be rich or be in love?” 

“That’s the best you can come up with? In love, easy.”

“Same.”

“My turn.” Buck grinned and jumped in his seat. 

“Oh God.” Eddie knew he wasn’t going to like where this was going. 

“Would you rather sleep naked or in pajamas?”

That wasn’t too bad, Eddie thought. “Naked.”

Buck whistled.

Eddie glanced toward Buck, nervously. “You?”

“Naked. Always.” Buck smirked. “Your turn.”

“How long are we gonna play this game?”

Buck shrugged. “I’ll go again. Your questions suck. Would you rather go on a date in a fancy restaurant or a cheap one?”

“Cheap.” Buck and Eddie said at the same time then burst out laughing. They nervously glanced at the back seat and breathed in a sigh of relief when they saw Christopher was still fast asleep.

Eddie glanced around, the road stretched as far as he could see. Apart from a car that’s been driving in front of them for the past 20 miles since they left Tucson, they were the only ones on the road. 

“Would you rather have many kids or one?” Eddie found himself asking.

“Many.” Buck looked down at his feet. “I love kids. I always wanted a big family.”

“I don’t know,” Eddie checked that he was driving by the speed limit. “I love Christopher. But, maybe someday…”

They were quiet for a few moments then Buck asked, “Would you rather have sex in the shower or in the rain?”

Eddie glanced at the back seat, making sure Christopher was still asleep. “I… That’s-”

“Not a hard question.” Buck snickered. 

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Let me think, would I rather break my neck or end up in jail?”

“Not if you do it right.” Buck’s bright eyes were focused on Eddie.

“You did both, didn’t you?”

“You haven’t?”

Eddie shifted in his seat. “I didn’t say that.” Eddie glanced at Buck. “Shower. Okay? Next question.” They had talked about everything, except sex. And Eddie didn’t feel like changing that any time soon. 

“Wait! I didn’t get to answer.”

Eddie waited a bit for Buck to answer and when he stayed silent, Eddie glared at him. “And?”

“You’re dying to know, aren’t you?”

Eddie groaned. “Just answer the question or ask another one. Or, better yet, stop this silly game.”

“Nope,” Buck shook his head. “Shower. And rain. And beach. And anywhere else.”

“Of course.” Eddie mumbled. 

“Who’s turn is it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know why we’re playing this stupid game.”

“Because I’m awesome and you can’t say no to me.”

Buck was right about that. Never before had Eddie wished to be able to say no to Buck more than in this moment. 

“I’ll go. You’re gonna love this one.” Buck grinned and rubbed his hand together like a cartoon villain. 

“I’m sure I won’t.”

“Would you rather dominate or be dominated in bed?”

Eddie slammed on the breaks and parked the truck on the side of the road. “I’m done playing this game.” He jumped out of the truck and peeked in on Christopher on the back seat 

Buck joined Eddie on the side of the road. “That’s not an answer.”

“What if Christopher were awake?”

“Still not an answer.”

“Jesus, Buck.” Eddie crowded Buck against the side of the car. “Enough!”

“I guess that answers that question.” Buck grinned and put his hands on Eddie’s hip.

Eddie visibly swallows. He tried to take a step back, but Buck’s hands held him in place. 

“One more question.” Buck said quietly, staring at Eddie’s lips. “Last one.”

Eddie nodded, he couldn’t look away from Buck’s lips. 

“Would you rather I kiss you or you kiss me?”

Eddie lurched forward and pressed his lips against Buck’s. Instantly, Buck parted his lips, kissing Eddie back. Stepping closer, Eddie pushed his body against Buck, eliciting a low moan in return. Buck let go of Eddie’s waist only to wound his arms around Eddie’s shoulders. 

Eddie ran his hands up the side of Buck’s body as he trailed kisses from Buck’s lips to the side of his neck. Throwing his head back, Buck shivered as Eddie nipped at his neck just underneath his ear. 

A car passed by and Eddie slowly pulled away, becoming aware of where they were and what they were doing. He looked up at Buck’s wide blue eyes and licked his lips. “Would you rather date me or be just friends?”

A huge grin stretched on Buck’s lips. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”

Eddie bit his bottom lip, waiting for Buck’s answer.

Buck pulled himself closer to Eddie and gave him a brief kiss. “I’d love to be your boyfriend.”

**El Paso, Texas**

Eddie parked his truck in his parent’s driveway. Before he could turn off the car, his mom rushed forward, she opened the back door and pulled Christopher into a tight hug. “I missed you so much! Have you grown?” They walked a little further away from the truck and Eddie watched Christopher hug his dad.

“What-What are you going to tell them?” Buck looked around nervously. “About us, I mean.”

Eddie shrugged, he didn’t know what to say to his parents, but if Buck thought Eddie would hide him, he was deeply mistaken.

They got out of the truck and Eddie was pulled into his mom’s arms. “I’m so happy you’re finally here.” 

“Me too. Believe me, me too.” Eddie chuckled. He greeted his father with a handshake then he walked to the front of the truck where Buck was awkwardly waiting. “Mom, dad, this is my boyfriend, Evan.”

Christopher cheered and hugged Buck. “Now you don’t need a girlfriend with black hair anymore, ‘cause you’ve got a boyfriend.”


End file.
